Antecedent Details

No matter what field you are in, there will always be someone who existed before you in the same field. Some of the professions that we belong to have existed ever since the beginning of time, and many thousands of people have practiced them since then. Some of these professions include medicine, trade, farming, tailoring, music, artistry/craftsmanship, and hunting/butchery. Most of these professions are still being practiced to date.

For example, our predecessors did not have hospitals, but they practiced medicine in the form of medical herbs and portions which acted as either painkillers or cures. Modern-day doctors also practice medicine, but they have more advanced technology, like X-ray machines, thermometers, patient monitors, stethoscopes, life support machines, et cetera. However, this does not change the fact that our ancestors also practiced medicine even though it was not as mechanized, which makes their outdated practices an antecedent to our practice of medicine today.

In the past, our predecessors also practiced business in the form of barter trade where they exchanged goods with other goods of the same worth. Barter trade was practiced widely all over the world up until currency was invented to measure the value of goods. The people who practiced barter trade back then are the antecedents of modern-day business people. This can also be rephrased to say that barter trade is the antecedent business.

Example of Antecedent

Imagine that you are a businessman in a small town which has just started to grow. You run a mini store that serves almost every resident in that area, and you have no competition besides some small-scale retail shops. In short, you dominate the market and have little competition since you are the only large-scale retailer in the area. The profits that you make are so good that you decide to expand your mini-store into a superstore to offer more commodities and a variety of brands for each item.

Your superstore also includes a deli, a bakery, a grocery section, and a butchery. This only increases your market since it saves local residents time because they don't need to go to multiple stores to acquire different commodities. However, as the town continues to grow into a vibrant urban center, many people acquire land in the area and build homes there. This, in turn, increases the population of the area and attracts the attention of investors and businessmen.

Within a short time, a few other stores open in the town, and they begin to receive customers. The popularity of the upcoming stores grows, but they still don’t dethrone you as the biggest store in the area. This is only because you were the first major retail store in the area, and the new ones don’t offer anything different from what you sell. Your store is the antecedent to the other stores in town, and therefore, you gained the trust and loyalty of a major percentage of the local population.

Significance of Antecedent

As the saying goes, "the early bird catches the worm." The sooner you invest in an establishment, the more profits you will bring in. When you are the pioneer in a new market, you will always have an advantage over later investors because, as long as your strategy is good, the competitors that come into the market are less likely to overtake you. The antecedent in any form of business is always the one that sits at the top of the pyramid.

Consider the shares in an establishment or a company. The founders own the major shares of the company, and they always have the last say when it comes to issues that affect the company directly or indirectly.

Just like in a company, the antecedent of an undiscovered market has the majority of the customers or clients in the area. The rest who come in later will always be in the shadow of the antecedent unless they come up with a business plan good enough to take over the market.